We were hearing stuff that some Americans socially divide people by their ethnicity. I just wanted to ask online whether this is true and if there could be any concerns

Unfortunately it is true, but it’s not everywhere. Generally speaking, the larger the population of an area, the less likely you’ll experience hostility. Coastal cities with large populations are highly unlikely to give you trouble. Rural aeas with lower populations have a higher chance of giving you trouble.

We even heard things like that in some places they divide people by “skin color” and base different cultures on that (we noticed that people from America even speak and behave differently based on whether they identify as “black” or “white”) and even have schools for primarily people with dark skin or so.

Yes, segregation was a dark chapter in America’s history. Officially, segregation was outlawed, but unofficially it still happens in some areas. Some of the conservative regions are trying to go back to the days of segregation and slavery. They create laws that aren’t specifically racist, but still have that effect.

As to different cultures, we have a lot of them. Most of the country speaks English, but we have a lot of different accents that seem like a different language entirely.

I dont know German, but I would draw a parallel to various English accents in the UK. Irish, Scottish, Cockney, Geordie, and so on.

As to the way white and black people talk, I suspect it has more to do with wealth and social class rather than race. Poor white people and poor black people tend to socially isolate from one another, creating distinct accents. But it’s not uncommon for intermingling.

I have a coworker who grew up in a poor black neighborhood and he has a “black accent” (for lack of a better term). If your only interaction with him is on the phone, it would be easy to assume he’s black.

I think this will be a complete non-issue. Interracial/interethnic marriage is quite common in the US. There might be a few isolated backwater areas where people would judge you but such people would be in the minority and would keep such thoughts to themselves.

And regardless, anywhere international tourists would know of or visit will be cosmopolitan enough that such pairings will not be unusual to see.

Don’t listen to the people saying there’s an issue anywhere.

All this racist nonsense is just that - nonsense.

I’ve lived or worked for extended periods in numerous states, from Maine to Alabama, North Dakota, Washington, Texas, California, and all over the midwest, especially in rural areas (worked with trucking companies), and you really don’t see all the racism people claim on the internet, even in the trucker world.

Yea, you’ll find an ass here and there, but that’s very much the exception today. Far more so than even the 70’s, when being openly racist in a small town was tolerated a lot more (“the older generation don’t know no better” kind of stuff).

So come to the US. You’ll be fine anywhere except specific areas in certain inner cities (and that’s a general crime issue, not a race issue).

Just go for it, so long as you aren’t overtly rude you’ll have minimal issues (hard to do, in my experience Germans are quite polite). Few people will care at all and those that do probably won’t tell you to your face which is for the best for everyone anyway.

Assuming you’re going to visit as a tourist most places you will be at will be fine for both of you.

Don’t come here. Shit’s fucked.

It kinda depends on where in the country you’re going.

West Coast, and Northern East coast is going to be a hugely different experience than the middle of the country or the southern coast.

Just look up "i went to racist town as a " and don’t goto those towns, youd have to go out of your way to find them.

America is a big place, and how people will react to you depends entirely on where you go. Racial incidents increased after Trump took office in 2016 and they probably will again now, but in general you’re totally safe.

As many people said there is racism in the US, but that’s cause everywhere has its flavor of racism.

If you’re visiting the US as tourists it’s highly unlikely you’ll encounter anyone being outwardly racist, especially if you keep to major tourist destinations.

In any major US city you’ll run into people of all different colors and people from all over the world working and living together, just like most big/international cities.

No you don’t. Just don’t act like the death valley Germans and you’ll be fine.

There’s a huge difference between living somewhere and visiting it as a tourist. Most places encourage tourism and are happy to demonstrate their hospitality. Stick to the tourist areas, start interactions by saying “We’re tourists from Germany…” and you’ll have no problem.

I’m not sure what other people here mean when they deny that there is racism in the US. There are plenty of racists in this country. It’s true that they’re much less likely to hang you from a tree for being in the wrong neighborhood – I guess if your standards are that low then we have indeed made great progress. But again, they’re generally not going to mess with tourists in tourist areas.

You’ll be fine everywhere you go. No one will even notice you. What you see online and how it is in real life are wildly different. Enjoy your trip

So others have already addressed most of your concerns, so, I’ll just leave it at that.

but, eh, I do want to point out that it’s surprising to me that EU people frequently seem to assume we’re all just one big sameness. Like you would look at me weird if I suggested French and Spanish cultures were the same, right? In terms of population size and landmass both, the US is more comparable to the EU as a whole, and we have a lot of diverse sub cultures here.

Some of that is divided along racial lines- do remember that roughly half of the 340 million people in the US aren’t white, and even if we were, most of our states have their own cultural quirks (and that includes variations in accents and dialects.) Which really shouldn’t be that surprising, considering at 85 million, Germany has subtle variations of culture too. y’all don’t all speak Standard German (which is funny because we tend to think of the stereotypical German as being Bavarian. complete with the lederhosen. I blame Oktoberfest.)

hell, some of your dialects may in fact be different languages than Standard German (Low Saxon, for example.)

Suffice it to say, we’ve got a lot of variation here, and the culture that you experience will largely depend on where you go. and since you’ve mentioned Nashville… definitely need to try the BBQ there. it’s delicious.

Almost nobody is going to care unless you go places nobody cares about.

We don’t segregate people by color, but some people self segregate. There are areas with more black people or more white people, but there is no laws that say you or her can’t go somewhere because of skin color.

I am assuming she is black. There is a small chance that some people will say rude things to one of you because you are with someone of a different color. Don’t confront them, just walk away. The cops would love to ruin their whole day, so govern yourself accordingly.

We see a lot of Germans in the tourist spots, your accent will be considered adorable and we will love to know where you are from and will likely fail to repeat the name of your home city unless it is Berlin, Frankfort, or Munich. If you are from Bayern, you are from Bavaria. If they ask you to say something in German, “etwas” is funny, but you will have to follow it up with an actual sentence. Throw in an “umgebung”, it’s a fun word to us.

Also you need to understand that America is very large. Germany is smaller than our states of Illinois and Indiana, look at those states on a map and understand that things are further apart than you may think.

If you can manage the 2hr drive, Chattanooga has an awesome aquarium with a massive glass walled tank.

Ask the hotel desk where are some good local spots to get food, but the best places are not in the information pamphlet they may hand you. I hope your pants fit loose, our food can put weight on you very easily if you take in too much of our hedonistic freedom. Tip your servers, that is how they afford to live.

Ich höffe das Eures Urlaub wunderbar sind und der Amis sind freundlich. Ich weiß das Sie Amerika lieben werden. Mein Deutsch schlecht ist, tut mir leid, es ist zwanzig Jahre her dass ich Deutsch gelernt habe.

I’m an American. Wanna trade places? Germany seems a lot less Nazi recently.